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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · stock · bulb · can · fine · bore · pound · present

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — goods
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. can — a tin
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to tire
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. present — a gift
  12. bore — to drill
  13. can — a tin
  14. fine — high quality
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. bulb — for light
  18. fine — all right
  19. can — to be able to
  20. pound — a weight
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. present — there
  23. bulb — for light
  24. present — the time now

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com